The situation in the UK is similar: there’s a distinction between the “freehold” (covering the land on which a property stands, and common/shared areas and services, mainly in a block of flats) and “leasehold” (covering the flat or house itself). The freehold can be retained by the original owner/developer of the property (subject to the leaseholders having a right, under certain conditions, to force a sale of the freehold to a special purpose company formed by them). Freeholders (whether the original developers or the directors elected by the leaseholders, who often lose interest in the details of property management) can sometimes be as petty and dictatorial as some of the HOA stories I read. As indeed can landlords of rented properties, whether social housing providers or commercial companies.
That said, it isn’t that usual for freehold houses to be sold with those sorts of restrictions attached.